Monday, January 31, 2011

Saw hubby today. He's looking very well and walking with the help of a single crutch only.

The doctors and physiotherapists are very happy with his progress - so much so that they're thinking of evicting him either tomorrow afternoon / Wednesday morning.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

His mate is going okayish. They're talking about transferring him to the local hospital - which would be more convenient for his family. Please keep the prayers coming for him in this regard and his recovery.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Took the girls in to see hubby today after Miss 7's gymkhana (will post photos later).

He was just on his way to have an x-ray when we rocked up. This was the x-ray that he was supposed to have when I turned up last night. Apparently they don't start any physio until after an x-ray.

The girls were happy to see their dad and he was, of course, happy to see them. Miss 9 commented afterwards on how well he was looking.

They took his morphine pump away as he hadn't used it enough in the 24hrs after surgery. He is back on oxycontin, but I'm not sure of the dosage.

He hadn't seen the surgeon. He had been told that he was on his way earlier that morning, then he was told that he had been called into surgery.

However, things must be okay because I had a call from him a little while ago and the physio had had him up standing and taking a few steps!!!

THEN I got a call from him about 10mins ago to tell me that a friend of ours, who was going to visit him this evening had had a fall and was in the same ward! Apparently, he had been to see a movie with his wife before going to visit hubby and had tripped and broken his leg.

He had rung hubby from the ED and hubby had spoken to the nurses and managed to get him into the same room. So at least they'll get some time to catch up. I do, however, feel sorry for his wife!

So thoughts and prayers for both of these guys please. Especially for an infection free speedy recovery!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Travellers: Shooting Buddy, Miss 9, Miss 7 and myselfPrimary Destination: Dongara, beautiful and huge house owned by Shooting Buddy’s friendsPrimary Purpose: To get away and give the girls a good time before they start back at school

Day 1: Friday Jan 21stDeparted approximately 12.30pm (had to go to work in the morning)Primary destination: DongaraChallenges: Packing everything into my little Toyota CorollaHighlights:**Cuppa at Isobella’s Café, Lancelin**People at Dongara**Dinner at Dongara**Nice comfortable bed at DongaraWeather: Hotter and more humid further north we went

I had asked the locals about stingers and they assured me there were never any at that beach. Unfortunately when she got stung none of us realised that the recommended treatment for these are different to most jellyfish stings so we did all the wrong things – fresh water and vinegar. She really wasn’t a happy camper for the next couple of days. She is now, however, fully recovered.

Day 3: Sunday Jan 23rdPrimary destination: ArinoWeather: Humid, hot – hotter as we headed inlandHighlights:**Coalsteam Park**Horses at property near Three Springs**Scooping out the Arino property for future shooting tripsChallenges:**Shooting Buddy’s navigational skills – which resulted in some interesting side-trips**Everything being shut, as it was SundaySummary:We decided to go and check out a property that our friends own near Three Springs. We left mid-morning and was planning to have a bit of a look around on the way. Shooting buddy wants to move up to this area so we’re doing some preliminary house hunting. We were also hoping to find somewhere for a nice lunch and get to the property late afternoon to see if we could find some rabbits for the girls to shoot at.

After leaving Mingenew we passed a turn-off for Coalseam Park. Shooting buddy had never been out there, nor had the rest of us - so we travelled the 30kms (or so) and got to this WONDERFUL area. You could tell that the place would be spectacular in wildflower season so we’ve pencilled in a return trip in September. We did get out of the car to look over the edge of a cliff but it was HOT so we decided that further exploration would have to wait.

On the return journey we came to a T-junction (we had entered from the left originally). I mentioned this to the driver, but he was convinced we needed to go right … so we did. It wasn’t until we ended up in Mullewa that he questioned why we were there. Nice town though – and the service station does a good serve of chips :) … Nothing else was open being a Sunday.

We then headed for Morawa (our original destination) where we had planned a good cup of tea at the bakery – only to discover that it had closed down :( Oh well, off to Three Springs.

When we got there we discovered that everything – including the service station – was shut :( … we did look around at a few houses and then took a drive out to one of the properties where they had horses. Miss 7 is horse mad. After seeing the horses we had a break from the car on this family’s back porch (they weren’t there, but shooting buddy is “known”). The temp gauge there said 39.9C .. and that was in the shade.

We then decided to head back to the service station as it was due to open soon and we were getting low on fuel. The driver, rather than returning the same route, decided to take a short-cut – um, right - we eventually got back on the right road and made it to the service station in time :)

After a refreshing cuppa (and ice-cream) we headed out to the farm to see if we could see some rabbits. We’ve been given directions to this property and mud maps in the past but have never been able to actually find it. This time, however, we were lucky. Even though it was now after 5pm it was still hot so we didn’t think there would be much wildlife around.

However, we saw two kangaroos before we got the guns out! We took a drive around the property and spotted another kangaroo, but that was it. There were lots of diggings and it look liked a lizard of some sort had dug out most of the rabbit holes. There were a number of fox and other tracks around so it would be a good property to do some spot lighting on.

However, while we were trying to decide whether to stay until after dark we got a call from our friends in Dongara. They were off to Perth the next day and were wondering when we were planning to be back as they wanted to catch us before they left.

So we decided that we’ld have to leave the property for another time and headed back to Dongara.

Day 4. Monday Jan 24thPrimary destination: GeraldtonWeather: HumidHighlights:**Lunch at Topolini's Caffe**Bent tree**For the girls – playing at the play groundSummary:Shooting buddy suggested that we head up to Geraldton on the Monday. We were told about a lovely winery just outside of Geraldton so had pencilled that in for lunch.

We drove up to Geraldton, had a cuppa and the girls played on the playground for a while. We then took a walk around and did some shopping (Miss 7 needed new bathers). We found the Tourist Information centre to check where the winery was, but were told that it was closed on Mondays, so we then looked around for somewhere else for lunch. I was hoping for something overlooking the ocean, but everything was shut. Eventually we ended up at a place that Shooting buddy recommended – Topolinio’s – which was a good choice as the food was stunning!

After a nice leisurely lunch, we headed back to the playground – as there was a small water park that the girls wanted to play in. It was drizzling by this time (the weather had been very humid the whole time we were there), but that didn’t put them off. So they played, while Shooting Buddy and I sat in the car and rested :)

We then headed back down the coast. There was a lot more we could have done and seen in Geraldton, but again, hot and humid isn’t my favourite weather for doing much in!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

For those of you that aren't aware, Carnarvon (a small country town ten hours drive north of Perth, the capital of Western Australia) was hit by severe flooding on the 19th of December 2010. Luckily the floods did not affect the majority of the town site but the waters flowed right through some of the outlying areas, including our pistol club.

As you can see by the attached photos, our club is all but ruined. We are a strong local club with 60 active members and we compete (IPSC) every Saturday for eleven months of the year. However it is unlikely we will be able to compete now for some time. We had five ranges, now none are safe to use. We had a great clubhouse with kitchen and seating area for up to 70 people, now this has been covered in water (initially flowing, but later just stagnant) up to mid-thigh.

Not only did the water come through quickly and with force, it also pooled in our ranges like it has never done before and is still there presently. The water as it recedes leaves behind a thick coating of mud and debris. Carnarvon is a horticultural town and some of its main industry is growing fruit and vegetables and also raising livestock on the outlying areas. As the river was so large and unexpected it swept through many homes, sheds and paddocks in outer areas resulting in the flood water becoming contaminated with chemicals, petrol and dead animals.

It is going to take many hands on deck, machinery and funding to move forward with the massive, unpleasant clean-up operation, reconstruction of ranges, stripping of the clubhouse, regrading of the road and reconstruction of shade and safety areas.

The recovery part of this operation must now begin!

Part of this is getting the message out there to all of you, please feel free to distribute this message as you see fit.

If you can provide us any assistance, (and any and all is welcome!) - please contact us [redacted].

Description of attached photos:IMG_0725 - A range that normally is large enough to run three separate competitions, almost 2m deep in water. We have a train that runs along tracks down an incline to serve as one of our shooting props, you can just make out the top of the green train.

IMG_0694 - The safety area of one range, the dividing range wall and shaded area for spectators

IMG_ 0641 - The road to Carnarvon Pistol Association - the gate is next to the large tree you can see in the middle of the photo

IMG_699 - Drums filled with sand to form the dividing wall of our 100m range

IMG_ 682 - A member wading out to survey the damage, note the sign welcoming you to Carnarvon Pistol Association

IMG_727 - One of our storage containers - it has floated to a new position and targets and range construction materials inside are ruined.

Kind regards,

Jesie [Redacted]CPA Secretary[Redacted]

If anyone can help in any way and want contact details, please leave me a note in comments or email me - see profile.

Monday, January 17, 2011

I've gone through the comments on my "What movies do you recommend for my girls?" post from the other day and have enough to keep them and me busy for awhile.

Movie Recommendations

Paint Your WagonThe Black Hole (12+?)OklahomaThe ShootistSilent RunningThe Final CountdownHawk The SlayerOriginal Star Wars TrilogyTron (original)Quigley Down UnderFlight of the NavigatorWhite FangThe Princess BrideThe Never Ending StoryWar GamesGreystoke: The Legend Of TarzanWillowThe LabyrinthThe Dark CrystalBack to the FutureThe Gods Must Be CrazyHallelujah TrailPete's DragonThe Ugly DachshundThe BoatniksTrinity is Still My NameSnowball ExpressMidnight MadnessScavenger HuntCondormanGhost in the Noonday SunSwiss Family RobinsonNo Deposit, No ReturnCandleshoeDragonslayerThe Last Flight of Noah's ArkThe Journey of Natty GannThe Man From Snowy RiverReturn to Snowy RiverThe CowboysMcClintockRio BravoEl DoradoBig JakeFortress(?)The Watcher in the Woods(?)My Name is Nobody

Let me know in comments if I missed any.

I got "The Never Ending Story" and "Paint your Wagon" out of the DVD library for them yesterday so it will be interesting to see what they think of them.

I also got one called "Artic Life" ("OMG-all-the-polar-bears-are-going-to-die" type). It had some lovely shots of polar bears and other artic critters in it. The girls seemed to enjoy it. (We watched this first as it was a short movie and it was nearly their bedtime).

was summed up by the father of the 9y.o. girl tragically killed by the shooter in Arizona last Saturday.

This shouldn't happen in this country, or anywhere else, but in a free society we're going to be subject to people like this. I prefer this to the alternative. - John Green, father of 9 year old Christina Green

Today, Brisbane is being affected by the floods, with the Brisbane River breaking its banks. The river is not expected to peak until Thursday.

The last time Brisbane suffered such a devastating flood was in 1974, after which the Wivenhoe dam was built to protect the city. However, the dam (according the news last night) is already 40% over capacity so they are releasing water from it which is then flowing downstream to Brisbane.

Further north, Cairns is on flash flood alert as a severe thunderstorm is moving through the area.

The company I work for has a number of manufacturing plants and distribution centres in Queensland. These have all been closed due to the floods. Thankfully all staff are safe.

Monday, January 3, 2011

In 2009, a weapon was used in 77% of attempted murders, 66% of murders and 43% of robberies (Table 2.6).

A knife was the most common type of weapon used in committing these offences: 37% of attempted murder victims; 36% of murder victims; and 19% of robbery victims were subjected to an offence involving a knife.

A firearm was involved in 18% of attempted murders, 12% of murders and 7% of robbery offences.

A high proportion of sexual assault offences (98%), kidnapping/abduction offences (83%) and over half of robbery offences (57%) committed did not involve the use of a weapon.

(Emphasis mine)

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So even if we did get rid of all weapons - including knives and guns - crime rates won't change much.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

All I can say is "Thank you" to those that have and do serve in the armed forces.

One review of it, that I read afterwards, asked the question "What is the point of the film?". For me, the film really reminded me that there are REAL people serving - with families, lives and feelings. The guys out there aren't robots - war affects the people who fight in it.